


Rescue Alex. Your Time Starts Now.

by Sashataakheru



Series: Spook Me fics [10]
Category: Taskmaster (UK TV) RPF
Genre: Alex definitely suffers the most, Alternate Dimensions, Darkness, Fear Play, Gags, Gen, Ghosts, Is It All A Dream?, Kidnapping, Magic, Mermaid!Alex, Puzzles, Restraints, Revenge, Sensory Deprivation, Silence, Songs, Spook Me Multi-Fandom Halloween Ficathon, a creepy Taskmaster house, altered states of consciousness, aquatic monsters, call and response, don't keep Greg's trophy in your garage, midnight tasks, pain play, shadow!Greg, transformations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:21:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27327997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sashataakheru/pseuds/Sashataakheru
Summary: Nothing good comes from being summoned to the Taskmaster house at midnight on Hallowe'en, Kerry reasons. It doesn't stop her going anyway.
Relationships: implied Greg Davies/Alex Horne - Relationship
Series: Spook Me fics [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/831771
Comments: 3
Kudos: 9
Collections: Spook Me Ficathon 2020





	Rescue Alex. Your Time Starts Now.

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the fic I started last year but didn't get to finish bc I just couldn't figure out the plot. Turns out I had my plot all wrong, and I needed to see s9 in order to find just the right motivations for Kerry's involvement. 
> 
> Originally inspired by [this spoopy horror Taskmaster trailer someone made](https://twitter.com/charley683/status/1154853380273164288?s=20).
> 
> Spook Me image prompts used: 1) [ghost](https://images52.fotki.com/v1211/photos/6/3814576/16026379/t_quintingleim_jpegformat1500w-vi.jpg) and 2) [aquatic monster](https://images41.fotki.com/v868/photos/6/3814576/16026379/chelorlastkissda_jpg1412280817-vi.jpg)

Kerry cursed under her breath as she approached the Taskmaster house at close to midnight, wondering why on earth she'd actually bothered to answer this particular summons, given it was Hallowe'en, and this was definitely not going to be anything good. 

Everything was dark, and no one looked like they were there either. Maybe she'd got the date wrong? But she knew she hadn't. She'd read that invitation so many times she knew it off by heart. She just wondered why she'd been picked out for special treatment or if she'd meet anyone else here. You never expected anyone else to be there, after all. It was always just you, and Alex, and the crew, and that was it. Doing tasks until you'd gone mad. The air suddenly turned cold, and she startled as she heard a very familiar voice behind her.

"Oh, good, you're here."

Kerry turned to see Greg, all dressed in black, emerging out of the shadows like smoke. It looked more terrifying than it had any right to be, but she held her nerve, since she was, after all, the Bosh Queen, and a Champion, and she shouldn't be getting scared at stuff like this. 

"Well, yeah, you did send me that letter, so of course I'm here. What's going on?" Kerry said.

"Just a little task for you. On the front door," Greg said as he swung open the gate and gestured her inside.

"You fuckers doing Hallowe'en specials now you're on Channel Four, huh? That'd be right," Kerry said as she nevertheless went through the gate. 

Greg smiled behind her and shut the gate, vanishing into the shadows as Kerry found her way to the front door, guided only by the flashlight on her phone, because the rest of the house was dark and lonely.

* * *

Alex didn't know where he was. Underground, probably. Dark, cold, isolated. There was some cloth tied over his mouth as a gag, and his hands were bound behind his back with rope, as he knelt on the rough, uneven floor, wondering what the fuck was going on. He had no memory of how he got here, but at least he wasn't naked. He couldn't see anything. Something else was definitely in the room with him, but he didn't know what. Or who. Well, no, he had a fair idea who it was. But he didn't want to think about what he might have kidnapped him for this time.

Something - a hand? - grasped his shirt collar and yanked him backwards. A face, perhaps, or the presence of a face, was suddenly so close to him Alex could've sworn he felt breathing. This did nothing to make him any less afraid. 

A low, familiar voice whispered harshly, accusingly, in his ear. "You tried to run." 

Alex shook his head vigorously, denying the accusation. He had no memory of running. The last thing he remembered was playing football with his kids in the backyard. 

"You did, you little shit. Don't you know I'm always watching? You can't escape from me."

Something sharp plunged into his chest, though whether it was a physical thing or a-a ghostly thing, Alex couldn't tell. All he knew was pain, and he screamed against the gag. 

"You want to run, boy? I'll make sure you can never run from me. Tonight, you'll sing for your rescue, and if my Champion doesn't find you in time, guess who'll never see the light of day again, hmm?" 

Alex didn't have the capacity to take his words in. All he knew was that his body felt strange and was possibly transforming, though into what, he didn't know. Couldn't tell. There was no light to see. Everything felt too weird to discern anything coherent.

He couldn't really describe the sensations either. His arms seemed to swell, and the rope binding his hands broke apart. But none of this involved freedom. He couldn't feel his legs anymore, and something inside felt like it was ripping his lungs apart as his body shrunk and something drew him inside itself, and then he might have blacked out from the pain for a moment. He felt like he was being flung about and had no control over his own body.

At some point, things settled down, and Alex found himself still, holding himself up with his hands, unsure what on earth he looked like now. Alex tried to speak, but no matter what words he thought he was saying, the only thing he heard himself sing - and he was definitely singing - was, "I am a mermaid who lives in the sea, why won't a sailor come visit me?"

A deeply evil laugh echoed around the room. "Very good, boy. We'll see if anyone comes to rescue you. And don't try to escape. You can't. I've shackled you to the ground. You're never leaving here if they don't find you, so get used to it, Alex. This might become your new home."

Alex had never felt so scared in his life as the presence slowly vanished from the air. All he could do was sing, and pray, and hope he was rescued in time. 

* * *

Kerry did her best to look brave as she looked around, seeing if anyone else was around. The house looked locked up, but there was indeed a task stuck to the front door. She removed the task and opened it to find out what she'd been summoned here to do. She sighed as she read the words. This was definitely not going to be fun, or easy. 

"'Rescue Alex. Your time starts now.' What, that's it? No hints? No clues? No time limit? Is he even here in the house? He could be anywhere!" Kerry said to no one in particular.

There was no answer, which spooked her out a bit, since Greg had been there just moments before. But she was definitely all alone, and needed to figure out what on earth to do now. After all, the idea of just quitting and going home because it was all too ridiculous did not occur to her, so she would complete the task, no matter how long it took. 

"Fine. I'll go find your silly boy. But I hope you haven't hidden him somewhere impossible, because I am not into being set up to fail, you hear?" Kerry said into the night.

She left the task on the front step and began her search, making her way around the side of the house towards the living room, seeing if there was a way in, given the front door was most definitely locked. 

* * *

Greg watched her go round the side of the house towards the living room, hiding himself in the shadows so he could keep an eye on her. He did like challenging his Champions this way. He loved seeing how well they coped under pressure. That, of course, was why they'd won. They had something the others didn't have. The point was never to see them defeated, but to see them succeed. That's why he did this.

That, and getting revenge on Kerry for keeping His trophy in her garage. That too. He was definitely still a little sore about that show of disrespect, but not enough to take it off her. He wanted her to just perhaps suffer a little and then succeed, because she was a great Champion, after all. And if that meant torturing Alex along the way, well, that was just a sacrifice Alex was going to have to make for Him.

He heard glass smashing and smiled to himself. Yes, Kerry would be fine. He was sure she'd succeed. The only question left was how she'd do it, and how long it would take.

* * *

Alex still had arms, and a torso, and a head, of that he was certain. But the rest of his body seemed to be a giant mass behind him, as if he was doing a cobra pose, except he didn't have legs anymore. He didn't really have anything below his waist that was at all recognisable as limbs, just a fleshy, well A fleshy something. Also there was a distinctly strong smell of fish in the air, which was threatening to make him gag. 

But then, he didn't feel human. His skin, when he touched it, felt dry and rough like shark skin. Though it was definitely different on his belly than on his back. His belly felt scarred, perhaps, but it was impossible to tell. There was a pool of water below him, he could feel that because his hands were propping him up. He somehow didn't have the body strength to stay up on his own, so he had to rest on his hands. At least he still had five fingers on each hand, and they seemed vaguely human-shaped.

But the rest of what he could feel was totally different. For a start, he had breasts. And he was sure they were meant to be breasts because that was the shape they were in. He felt a shiver of, well, of _something_ through his body when he touched them, and then deep embarrassment afterwards once he realised he was touching a pair of breasts, even though they were his own. He could feel the nipples getting hard between his fingers. It was such a strange sensation, but not one he didn't enjoy, to be fair. He might have done it a second time, just for a moment, before he felt too embarrassed at how much he enjoyed it. 

That was how he realised where the water was coming from. It was coming from his right breast, spilling down his body and pooling at his, well. Not at his feet. He didn't have feet anymore. He had no idea how to stop it, and hoped it wasn't going to drown him. 

Greg had clearly turned him into a mermaid, or some kind of mercreature at any rate. He reached up to feel his head, and he'd lost his beard, and all his body hair, and now his head was much more narrow and feminine, and his hair, if it could be called that, was made of what felt like fleshy growths and bits that felt like seaweed or coral. He felt what he could only assume to be gill slits on the side of his neck, but he still seemed able to breathe normally too, since he was definitely not suffocating at the moment. 

As he looked around, he could begin to see things. Not a lot, mind. His vision was now reduced to greyscale, or infrared, or something less than full colour vision. He could begin to make out shapes in the cavern, like that he seemed to be in a pool and there was a rocky path upwards leading to the way out, he presumed. And when he looked behind him, he could see a seething great grey mass of something that was the rest of his body, but it was too dark to make out anything more. Whatever it was, it was a lot larger than him.

He then felt an overwhelming need to _be in the water right now_ and lay down, giving in to the sensation of water passing over him, and the novelty of not needing to breathe like a human. He could feel his gills working then, and he simply let the water comfort him. Breathing through gills felt very different, but so automatic he didn't even question it. He also didn't notice the mighty jaw closing down around him because he was feeling too safe and warm now, surrounded by water, and safe from the outside world. 

* * *

Kerry had taken a brick to the glass doors leading to the living room faster than she would like to admit, but she didn't know another way in, and there were bricks hanging around by the caravan, so it seemed like the most useful option. If they were going to leave her here at night with nothing else to go on, she'd do what she could, and they'd have to deal with the broken glass later. Thank fuck the house wasn't surrounded by other houses who might call the cops on someone smashing windows at midnight.

Gingerly, she stepped carefully over the glass and inside the still, cold, dark house. It looked creepy during the day at the best of times. At night? God, at night it was a thousand times worse. Not enough light coming in through street lights or other houses to light it up very well at all. The full moon, such as it was, was hidden behind thick cloud, offering no help at all.

"God, it's like a horror movie set in here. What's with all the doll heads?" Kerry said, scanning the room with her phone's light, trying to see if there was anything useful she could find. She got a scare as she lit up the Taskmaster's portrait on the wall, because it looked like his face had been skinned or flayed, leaving just the muscle and tissue behind, and that was not a promising look until she realised it was actually made from vegetables. Then she caught sight of the horse head mounted on the wall, and backed off a little into the sofa, not enjoying this experience at all. "Fuck. When did this house get so creepy? I mean, it was always a bit creepy, but this is too much."

She made her way over to the door into the hall, looking for a light switch. Who knew if they'd actually give her lights to work with? She didn't even know where the light switches were. She had other things on her mind when she was doing her tasks here, not thinking about where all the bloody light switches were. 

She found one near the portrait, behind the shelf, but since the switch seemed stuck and wouldn't move, clearly there had to be another one. She looked behind the door this time, and found one that did work, which also offered a dim sort of light, as if the globes weren't bright enough for full light. This made the room look like it was bathed in candlelight. 

"Well, I guess that's better than nothing," Kerry said, unimpressed, as she looked around the room for anything useful. "Still no clues, I see, though. That'd be right."

Buoyed by the fact one light did in fact work, she took one last look around the living room before she headed into the hall, seeking out any other lights she could find to at least take away some of the inky blackness and make the house slightly less creepy before she began her search for Alex.

* * *

In the dark, Alex thought he could hear a voice. A woman's voice. One he recognised, as it turned out. Kerry was definitely not subtle as she talked to herself as she presumably walked around the house above. But how close was she really? He had no idea how far from the house he was, or how deep underground. But if he could hear her, surely he must be close? Surely all he had to do was sing and she'd hear him and come find him? That was how this was meant to work, right? 

He pushed himself up back onto his hands and listened. He noticed the water seemed to be up to his elbows now, which at least made his submerged skin feel a lot happier. He could hear footsteps somewhere above him. Maybe this is what Greg meant when he said he needed to sing for his rescue. He'd just have to keep singing until she heard him and figured out how to get to him. And because he could only sing one thing, he couldn't help her in any way, except by using his voice as a guide to where he was. It was a devastatingly clever move, and Alex admired Greg for it as much as he hated him for giving him such a crippling limitation. 

And so, with nothing to lose, he began singing. 

* * *

Kerry discovered that all the lights that she could find had the same dim sort of light bulbs in them, which did give her some light to look with, but also made the place feel even creepier by giving the shadows she'd previously ignored because it was too dark for there to be shadows anyway an opportunity to just look menacing no matter where she was. 

She hadn't found any trace of Alex though. She'd looked everywhere she thought a human could possibly hide in the small house, and found nothing. Alex just didn't seem to be anywhere in the house. She wasn't completely surprised by this, because that would be too easy, right? If he was just hiding in a cupboard? 

And then, she froze as she heard what sounded like singing, though she couldn't tell where it was coming from. It was singing the same thing, over and over again, but the voice was clearly far away as it was very faint. It wasn't hard to hear it either, given how utterly quiet everything was at that moment. There weren't even any cars driving by. 

_"I am a mermaid who lives in the sea, why won't a sailor come visit me?"_ , sang the voice, and from where she was standing just outside the kitchen, it sounded very ethereal and ghost-like. 

"What the fuck?" Kerry said under her breath. "Is that a recording? They're really going for the creepy vibes now, aren't they? Jesus." 

She paused a moment, trying to find the source of the singing. This was not easy, given how faint the voice was. She couldn't even pick out whether it was a man or a woman singing. It did sound pretty bad though, so whoever it was, they definitely weren't very good at singing. Or maybe that was the residues of the recording, because maybe they'd used one from the 1930s and it was old and crackly. She wouldn't have put it past them to do that. 

She went towards the front door, just to see if it was anywhere there, poking about the cubby holes but finding nothing. The singing seemed to get even fainter, so that clearly was the wrong direction. A shadow passing across the front door then startled her, and she bumped into the little table in front of Greg's portrait as she backed into the wall. Thank God it had rounded edges or it might have properly hurt her. 

"Oh, fuck," Kerry whispered, watching for the shadows that just seemed so much worse now, as she watched it pass back across the door, larger than she would like.

All the lights flickered then and went out. A very cold breeze came at her fast, pushing her hard against the wall; the portrait came loose and fell down, though weirdly it did not break. Kerry did not move at all, feeling a hand pressing against her chest. 

"Alright, alright, you can quit being scary, I don't need this right now, okay?" Kerry said, her voice unable to hide her nerves. 

There was definitely a face pressing against her left cheek. She could feel it. Both warm and cold at the same time, of course, with hot breath on her skin. She just could not see anything. Or anyone. There was nothing holding her here, except that there very much was. 

"You'll need to be a little smarter than this if you want to rescue him," Greg whispered harshly.

That voice had come from nowhere, but it was so utterly close to her. And she recognised it instantly. How on earth was he doing this? She wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer. 

"What do you mean, Greg? I'm scared, and this isn't helping me think!" Kerry protested.

Something gripped the front of her shirt and threw her back down the hall. She almost kept her feet, but not quite, and tripped and stumbled, falling down just before the kitchen. She didn't stay down for long, though, and quickly got up, giving cautious looks back down the hall as the lights returned, just in case she saw something, but it was all as if nothing had happened. She couldn't even see the portrait on the floor. 

She shook her head, muttered about letting it get to her, and headed back towards the lab, where the singing seemed to get a little bit louder, but still not loud enough to pick up who was singing. 

Kerry paced around the floor outside the lab, as softly as she could, trying to figure out if the singing was coming from _underneath the floor_ or if that was just the way the sound was echoing. If it was coming from underneath her, she had no idea how she might break through. Then she found a spot, one corner where the sound seemed clearer. That was when she was able to hear Alex singing, and not just hear a random voice. The fact that it was being sung differently every time suggested that it wasn't a recording. That was Alex singing right this very moment, trying to get her attention. Greg must have stopped him using any words other than the words of the song, meaning he might be unable to help her any more than this. That was going to be problematic.

"Never let it be said you'd make it easy for me, hey? Why the fuck would you put him under the house? God, I bet there's like some dark creepy basement I'm going to have to find my way into, right? That's how this sort of thing usually works," Kerry said, not looking forward to finding out how to get under the house in the first place. She didn't think there even was an under the house here, but well, who knew at this point? 

Cursing, she made her way out through the living room, carefully stepping over the glass, because the front door still would not unlock from the inside, and went around to the back of the house to see if she could find any further clues. 

* * *

Alex felt elated that Kerry had heard him, and identified him, but now he had to somehow guide her, and he had no idea how to do that with just the song he was able to sing. Just as he was pondering how to turn different intonations of the words into directions, he felt a dark presence behind him as a hand slipped up his neck and gripped him tightly.

"She'll definitely find you, don't worry, you little worm, but you're both going to suffer first, just to please me. You do like pleasing me, don't you, Alex?" Greg growled so close to his ear that Alex shivered.

What Alex wanted to say was, 'yes, of course, sir', but what came out was just the same song he'd sung before, only his voice was definitely more frightened now. Just because he had resigned himself to being tormented by Greg didn't mean he wasn't afraid. The last time had fucked with his head so badly he'd had nightmares for months afterwards. 

"Good boy," Greg said, and seemed to exhale something into Alex's ear that made his head buzz with confusion. "Don't worry, it won't last, but that's what you get for running. Don't you dare try it again, you hear me?" 

Alex nodded, squeezed his eyes shut, sung again in response almost involuntarily, had no idea what was going on except for the fact that he had lost all sense of direction and his body was beginning to sting with pain. He couldn't even cry out properly, just continue singing his song, only with a much more anguished voice, barely aware of Greg slipping away into the darkness, leaving him alone. 

* * *

Kerry liked the side of the house down past the garage even less than she liked the shadowy house, if she was being honest. There wasn't really enough light to see what was down here, apart from dark shapes that might have been boxes or well, anything really. The passageway was narrow, and she'd already stubbed her foot on a barrel. She wished she'd paid more attention to the house when she'd been doing her tasks. She might have a better idea of what to find. 

Then she stopped suddenly as a pair of red eyes formed and she crashed right into a very alive cow, who did not appreciate her presence and nosed her backwards. Kerry almost stumbled as she retreated, not taking her eyes off the cow.

"Fucking hell. What's a bloody cow doing here? Jesus," Kerry said. Then she realised, through the dim light in a window, that the cow was wearing a cowboy hat. Because of course it was. 

"Fuck. What am I meant to do? I can't fight a cow. Maybe there's another way around," Kerry muttered as she turned back.

Walking back down the passageway did not last long, before she ran into a very large and solid mass that she very much did not see because it was a huge black shadow, and turned to see a very solid Greg standing there, not making any effort to comfort her. 

"I don't think so, Kerry," was all Greg said as he gestured down the path.

His tone freaked her out then, beginning to realise that he was very much not on her side, and definitely not trying to help. He clearly wanted her to go towards the cow, but that just made her want to do that even less. But what was the other option? Fight him? She'd never win in a fight against him. So, she stood there, panicking, unsure which obstacle would hurt her less, Greg or the cow. "But- there's a _cow_ , Greg. A cow! What the fuck's a cow doing here?" 

Greg crossed his arms and took a step forward, forcing Kerry to move. "That's what you get for disrespecting me, Kerry. I'm sure you could lasso it if you wanted to. There aren't many places for it to go, after all." 

The cow exhaled then, and the noise startled Kerry, as she backed into Greg, not really wanting to go anywhere near it. Cows were definitely bigger than you thought they were when one was standing in front of you and you weren't very tall to begin with. 

"What's option two?" Kerry asked, not sure she really wanted to know, but anything had to be better than this, right?

"You complete the task blindfolded," Greg said.

If Greg was expecting that would get a rise out of her, he was right. That absolutely set her off. She was so livid, she somehow managed to push Greg backwards, which was no easy feat, as she just let everything out.

"Oi! That is not on, Greg. It can't be done. I won't do it. I'm not groping round in the dark on my own. I'm also not lassoing the cow. I don't want to be a part of this anymore. Go play your stupid games with someone else. I'm scared and this is impossible and you're just not helping! I don't know what to do! But I'm not fighting a cow and I’m not doing it blindfolded, I just want to go home," Kerry said.

"Fine. You've made your choice. So be it," Greg said, clicking his fingers.

Kerry felt something punch her hard in the stomach, and she doubled over, blacking out, unaware of Greg catching her in his arms. 

* * *

It took Kerry a while to open her eyes, and when she did, she saw a very different landscape before her. The grass was red, and the sky was orange, and the air was hot and dry. She was lying on her back, and it took a lot of effort to sit up. Gravity seemed to work differently here, as her limbs all seemed very heavy. As she looked up, she saw a dark figure moving towards her, indistinct except as a shadow. 

"Is that Greg? That has to be Greg, right? Where the fuck am I?" Kerry murmured, unable to see anything else around her that might possibly be alive.

The shadow kept progressing, making absolutely no sound. In fact, there was no sound at all in this place. No birds, no animals, no wind, nothing. Nothing, save for her voice. She felt like she ought to get up and run, but as she tried to push herself up, something grabbed her ankle hard and pulled her backwards. 

"Oh, fuck no, you fucking- I'll fucking kick you, you bastard! Let go!" Kerry cried, clawing at the grass, but the strange lethargy in her limbs made escape impossible, and she was pulled under the earth.

* * *

Alex startled as he heard something move in front of him. Well, not move, per se. He could definitely hear Kerry seemingly trying to escape, but clearly getting nowhere, and in a moment, she appeared, tumbling down from somewhere above him down into the water. 

"Oh, fuck, fuck, what the fuck, water? Where the fuck am I?" Kerry said as she scrambled to her feet, trying to stand in the pitch darkness. 

Alex, now absolutely awake and paying attention, reached for her, singing, hoping she'd understand it was him. She startled instead, turning to the sound of Alex's voice, now aware that she was not in fact alone here. 

"Alex? Oh, God, Alex is that you? Where are you? I can't see anything," Kerry said.

Alex kept singing and splashed her with water, hoping that might help give her a direction to move in. _Please, please, please_ , he was begging in his head, hoping she wasn't too late. 

He watched her stumble awkwardly forwards, arms out in front of her; it seemed the ground was not in fact flat. But she did seem to understand the purpose of the splashing and seemed to work her way towards it, arms out groping blindly in the dark, until she stopped, suddenly, though Alex had no idea what she was touching. 

"Alex? Is there... are those teeth?" Kerry said. 

Alex could only sing, unsure what else to do. She definitely wasn't touching him, but there was definitely something else in there with her. With them. God knows what though. 

"Alex, splash me again, will you? I need to know where you are," Kerry said.

Alex splashed and sang, and watched her confused face as she tried to work out where on earth he was. She bent down and seemed to be feeling for something, but she was still out of his reach or he'd have just grabbed her arm. 

And then, before she could reach him, Alex felt himself lying down in the water again as that large jaw closed down over him, and he let the water calm and soothe and silence him. 

* * *

Kerry felt the splashing stop and heard Alex stop singing, and froze. She was wet, and there were definitely some bruises and sore spots from the fall into wherever she was now. Her phone had fallen out somewhere, it seemed, so she had no light source, even if it hadn't been damaged by the water or the fall or being dragged along the ground. Everything was just dark. 

"Alex? Alex, where are you? Why've you stopped singing?" Kerry said, hoping she wasn't about to be killed. 

She splashed back in the direction she'd felt Alex in, but there was no reply save for a short sharp snort, which sounded like it had come from something very large, and very not human. It also sounded close. A little too close for her liking. She froze. There was no point in running in the dark. She had no idea what she was up against, and the ground was too uneven to trust. 

"Greg, I don't know what you're playing at, but this is hardly fair, is it? What am I meant to do? He's clearly here, but I don't know where, and I can't see anything. How do you expect me to rescue him when I can't see?" Kerry pleaded, feeling on the verge of a nervous panic. 

There was no answer but something shifted in the water. She could feel the ripples and waves crashing into her. She could also see a dim light in the distance, somewhere high up, and as it got brighter, and Kerry saw what was actually facing her, she very much wished for the darkness. After all, a fish that could survive with most of its body out of water was definitely not one to underestimate. 

"Oh God, what is that thing? A giant fish? You turned Alex into a giant fish? Oh no, I'm not doing this. This is too much. I can't deal with this," Kerry said, backing off, as the fish's red eyes followed her movements. 

_respond to his words_ , came a deep rumbling growl in her head, and it stopped her in her tracks because it didn't sound like Alex. The words also sounded a little strange, as if the speaker wasn't used to speaking them. The emphasis was a little off. Perhaps it was the fish, rather than Alex, but that would mean Alex was inside the fish, right? 

"Alex, are you inside the fish? Is that where you are? Can you hear me?" Kerry said, stepping a little closer. 

The fish seemed to close its eyes, and breathe out, though neither of these things made sense to her because that wasn't how fish worked, was it? But then the fish didn't seem to be hostile either, because it was just lying there, its eyes off to the side, smelling very strongly of fish now. Kerry backed off, hoping to get away from the smell, but it wasn't easy in the small confined space. 

If Alex was indeed inside the fish, the fish did not appear willing to reveal him. The singing had stopped completely, and then, without warning, so did the light, plunging her into darkness. 

Kerry had no energy left to throw a tantrum now, and simply sighed, exasperated. "Oh, come on, Greg, really? Do I have to do this shit in the dark? Really? What do you expect me to be able to do in the dark? This is impossible!" 

There was no response. Frustrated, Kerry simply sat down in the water, not even caring at how wet she would get, and cried into her hands. 

* * *

Greg watched, wondering how long he was going to keep her there for. He wasn't entirely sure she understood what she needed to do, which was respond to Alex's song. She didn't have to do anything more than get the words right, and he'd change back. But perhaps he'd pushed her a little too far tonight. He did, after all, want her to succeed. 

After a while of watching no one move, and listen to Kerry's despair, he shifted over to her, giving her a warm, comforting energy as he held her close. She startled, but did quickly settle, especially when he spoke, his tone very different now.

"All you have to do is say the magic words, Kerry. That'll free him. He's been singing this whole time. How would you respond to that?" Greg said.

"Wait- you mean the words he was singing were actually important? I just thought it was nonsense. I can't even remember them now. Just something about a mermaid. I wasn't paying attention to them," Kerry confessed. 

"Then perhaps you'd better pay attention next time he starts singing. That's all the help I'll give you. You're a Champion, right? I'm sure you'll work it out," Greg said.

Greg withdrew, leaving her sitting there, trying to think. He thought he'd let the fish sleep a little longer before he let Kerry hear the song again. 

* * *

Kerry sighed, trying to remember the song. She'd sort of tuned it out after the first few times she'd heard it, thinking of it as a sound she had to follow, not a song she needed to respond to. In her defence, she hadn't realised she'd need to pay attention to the words either, so she was a little cross that Greg's tone was that seemed to be obvious, when it really wasn't, not to her, anyway. 

She tried humming the tune, but wasn't entirely sure she'd remembered it accurately. She wasn't even sure she remembered any of the words, apart from it being something about a mermaid. What she needed was for Alex to sing it again so she could get it in her head, and then try to figure out how to respond to it. But that didn't seem to be happening. The fish creature remained very silent, and did not even seem to be moving. The only sound, apart from her muttering, was the soft breathing of the fish. 

She felt the dark was beginning to get to her now too. Kept thinking there was something moving, or that she could see _something_ off in the distance, but couldn't be sure what. It was hard to tell when there was no other input. 

"'I am a-', hmm. I am a what? Is that it? Wasn't there something about a soldier?" She hummed what she thought the tune was again and then scrunched her face up because it clearly wasn't right, but she didn't know what the correct tune even was. There'd been too much going on, to be fair. 

"I'm never going to remember that fucking song. I'm going to be trapped down here, aren't I? That's what this is going to be. I'm just not clever enough to remember that song. And how will I know I've got the words right? Do they need to be the right words? Or just close enough? God, I don’t even know the words. I wish Alex would start singing again. I'll listen properly this time," Kerry said to herself. 

But her wish went unanswered, and she sighed, cursing herself for not paying attention to the words of his stupid song. 

* * *

Alex became aware of some sort of vibrations through the water, faint though they were. That was what roused him, and he found himself rising up out of the water again, propping himself up on his hands as he looked for Kerry. There. Not too far away, but sitting there, crying into her hands, occasionally punching the water. She seemed to hear something and looked up, looking scared.

"Alex? Alex, is that you? Where are you? I can't see anything," Kerry said.

Alex sung, and splashed her with water, hoping to reassure her that he was indeed there, and could hear her. 

"Alex! God, look, keep singing will you? I need to know the words so I can respond to them, though god knows how I'm going to find the right words. Splash once for yes, twice for no, alright?" Kerry said. "You do know the right words, don't you? That I need to say?" 

Alex had no idea. Greg hadn't told him anything about that, so he splashed twice for no, and hoped Kerry would work it out. 

"Oh fucking- goddammit. This is way too hard!" Kerry paused a moment. "Alright. I guess you're just going to have to keep singing while I try and figure out what the fuck I need to say back to you. You'd better pray it's obvious or we might never get out of here."

Alex couldn't think of a better approach, though he'd have been unable to communicate one even if he'd had something to offer. So, he simply kept singing, softly enough that Kerry could still think, and hoped she might figure it out. 

* * *

"'I am a mermaid who lives in the sea, why won't a sailor come visit me,'" Kerry muttered to herself, the song, and its words, burnt into her brain. She could see now what sort of response she should be aiming for, or at least, the one approach that made sense to her, but she didn't know what words to use. 

Clearly, she should respond as a sailor, coming to visit the mermaid, but the combination of words she could think of just did not seem to parse together, not with the same tune, anyway. She sat there, tapping out the tune as she muttered potential words and hated all of them. 'I am a sailor' was honestly the most certain she could be. The rest was just not coming together. 

"'I am a sailor who sails the high seas'… God, the rest just does not want to work! This is so stupid. The words just don't fit! I just can't think anymore. I feel like I've tried everything I can think of and nothing's worked. This is the worst night of my life and I want it all to stop," Kerry said, very close to giving up. She just couldn't find the words. Nothing fit. The tune just didn't work. 

She closed her eyes – somewhat pointlessly, given she was still sat in the dark – and tried to just let her mind empty and stop stressing about the words. If she didn't think, maybe the words might just drift in? Isn't that how meditation was meant to work? She wasn't really sure, but she'd tried everything else so perhaps this would work too. 

Alex was still singing, of course, so she still had the song running around her head. She murmured what she had so far along with it, trying to see if any inspiration would come to her. 

* * *

_I am a mermaid who lives in the sea, why won't a sailor come visit me?_

God, the way Alex's voice was echoing now was just getting a little eerie, Kerry thought. 

"'I am a sailor who sails the high seas…' But what comes next? How do I respond to that?" Kerry murmured.

She listened again, trying every version of the words she'd come up with before, just in case one of them fit. And then- 

"Oh! Oh, that's it! _I am a sailor who sails the high seas, where is the mermaid I've come to see?_ That's it! That's the one I-"

Kerry didn't get a chance to finish, because suddenly the water surged into her, knocking her backwards, and she hit her head on something before the water overwhelmed her and she blacked out. 

* * *

Alex was taken by surprise as she proclaimed the answer, and had little time to understand it was the right answer before fire surged through his whole body, and then all he felt was searing heat and a buzzing in his head and then he wasn't really sure what happened after that, apart from blinding light and losing consciousness. 

* * *

The first thing Kerry saw was the stars, before becoming aware of the pain in her body. She was lying on something soft – grass? It took her a moment to wake up properly and sit up, looking around her. It took another moment to recognise where she was, lying on the grass outside the living room at the Taskmaster House. Gazing around, she thought she was alone until she saw a figure lying against the wall at the back.

"Is there someone there? You alright, mate?" Kerry called as she slowly got to her feet. 

She checked each pocket until she found her phone, bringing up the flashlight to help her see if she needed to get help. As she got closer, she could see the figure was a man, and getting closer still, saw it was Alex. Clothed, but seemingly alive, judging from the moans she could hear. 

"Alex?" She crouched down beside him and shoved him a little. "You alright? What happened? Are you hurt at all?" 

Alex seemed to breathe in deeply, and he shifted a little. "Kerry? Are we at the house?" 

"The Taskmaster house? Yeah, we are. Are you okay? You don't look okay," Kerry said.

Alex took another deep breath and turned to face her, pausing for a moment before he sat up, leaning against the fence. He looked tired, Kerry noticed, but didn't seem injured. She sat down next to him, remembering things but being unsure they had actually happened. 

"Does he do this to you a lot?" Kerry said.

"Who, Greg?" Alex said, sounding confused. 

"Yeah." 

Alex shrugged helplessly. "…I mean, I don't even know. I just do what I'm told. That's why you're here too, right?"

Kerry sighed. "Yeah, I mean, you don't ignore a summons from him, do you? You just don't."

"No, you don't. I'm sorry. I wish I could help but it's just as confusing for me too," Alex said.

"Oh, so you don’t- does he just do this to you anyway?" Kerry said.

Alex shrugged. "Does what? I don't know! Does any of it happen? I don’t know! I don't know. I'm sorry."

Kerry brought him into a hug, because he seemed to need that. He hugged her back immediately, pulling her close. She stroked his head, trying to calm him down, but he seemed to just need her touch, and after a while, he pulled away, seemingly returning to his usual awkward self.

"Sorry, I don't – I'm sorry. I'll – we should head home, yeah?" Alex said, getting to his feet. He offered her a hand.

She let him pull her up, and he looked at her, not wanting to leave without her, even though he seemed quite anxious to leave. 

"Yeah, yeah we should. Are you sure you're alright?" Kerry said.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine. Just- the drive home will help. Don't worry about me," Alex said.

Kerry didn't quite believe him, but wasn't about to question him as he started walking back towards the gate. She followed him wordlessly, exhausted, but not seemingly injured. Just tired. 

"Do you need me to walk you to your car? Or are you okay now?" Alex asked as he opened the gate for her.

"No, no, I'm just over there. It's not like the car park's full at midnight, you know," Kerry said.

"Oh, yes, of course. Sorry. And…" 

Alex paused and Kerry looked at him curiously. "Something else I need to know?" 

"Oh. Just. If you have any nightmares, do give me a call. I might – be able to help. Or at least, understand. Once again, I'm sorry. I don't know why he does this," Alex said.

"It's okay, we're here and we're both alive, so I guess that's all we can hope for in 2020, right?" Kerry said.

Alex laughed nervously and Kerry wasn't sure she wanted to know why. "Yeah, it's – yeah. Sorry. You can go if you like. I'll be okay."

"Alright, if you're sure. Take care, Alex. Text me when you get home, yeah? So I know you got home safely, yeah?" Kerry said. 

"Oh! Oh, of course. Sure thing. Goodnight, Kerry," Alex said.

"Goodnight, Alex," Kerry said.

Alex turned and went off in another direction, leaving Kerry to make the short walk over to her car. She was surprised, and unsurprised, to find Greg leaning against a tree, appearing from the shadows as she approached. 

"Alright, what do you want? Had your fun, hey?" Kerry said, unimpressed. "What the fuck did you put me through all that shit for anyway?" 

"You might want to have a word with your dear friend Katy Wix, and ask her what she stole from your garage. That should clear things up for you. Goodnight, Kerry," Greg said, before turning and disappearing into the night as if he'd never been there. 

Kerry just stood there, in shock, suddenly remembering what she definitely might have done to upset him. She'd remembered that episode, but as there'd been no immediate follow-up, she'd sort of just forgotten about it in the haze that became 2020, and sort of never imagined Greg would actually want to get back at her for it. But she had definitely got that one very wrong. 

"Fuck. Fucking hell. I – sorry, Greg," Kerry muttered, feeling as if she'd now have to find somewhere better to keep it, just so this didn't happen again. "Fuck."

Her drive home was nowhere near long enough to help her find a solution. But she told herself she'd deal with it in the morning as she collapsed into bed, exhausted. 


End file.
